EP4593054A1

EP4593054A1 - A locking mechanism

Info

Publication number: EP4593054A1
Application number: EP24153449.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mohammd RASHID; Atulkumar Fadadu; Vikaskumar THAKUR
Original assignee: Hitachi Energy Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Energy Ltd
Priority date: 2024-01-23
Filing date: 2024-01-23
Publication date: 2025-07-30

Abstract

Disclosed is locking mechanism (100) for circuit breaker (200), comprises first link (104) to rotate upon engagement of key (106). Second link (108) coupled to first link (104) to transfer motion and rotate second link (108). Third link (110) comprises first end and second end, and first pivoting axis of first end is displaced in first direction and second pivoting axis of second end is displaced in second direction, first end of third link (110) is coupled to second link (108) and second end of third link (110) is coupled to first end of fourth link (112). First joint (114) converts rotation of second link (108) into linear motion of third link (110) and second joint (116) converts linear motion of third link (110) into rotation of fourth link (112). Third joint (118) coupled to second end of fourth link (112) arranged to restrict motion of triggering lever (102).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a locking mechanism for high voltage systems, more particularly the present disclosure relates to the locking mechanism for an energy storage module in a circuit breaker.

BACKGROUND

Generally, it is essential to prevent a closing operation when a circuit breaker is triggered electrically or manually. Consequently, due to safety concerns, a mechanical interlocking system is implemented to prevent inadvertent closing of the circuit breaker and thus prevents simultaneous switching of the two or more circuit breakers in ON state. The mechanical interlocking system is an essential component of the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker also includes an energy module, the energy module constitutes of an operating mechanism, individually controlled double close coils, close-on-close interlocking, spring charging indicators, and mechanical closing provisions.
However, integrating the mechanical interlocking system which can be accessed from outside of the circuit breaker in a compact operating mechanism having multiple features or elements is a challenging and a complex task. Therefore, such an integration of the mechanical interlocking system in constricted spaces may not meet the operational and robustness requirements of the circuit breaker.

SUMMARY

It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to provide a circuit breaker and a locking mechanism which can be integrated with different elements that are interacting with operating mechanism in a circuit breaker.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a locking mechanism for an energy storage module in a circuit breaker is provided. The locking mechanism is arranged to interact with a triggering lever in the circuit breaker. Further, the locking mechanism includes a first link arranged to rotate upon engagement of a key with the first link. The locking mechanism also includes a second link coupled to the first link, wherein the rotation of the first link transfers a motion to the second link and rotates the second link. Further, the locking mechanism includes a third link comprising a first end and a second end, wherein a first pivoting axis of the first end is displaced in a first direction and a second pivoting axis of the second end is displaced in a second direction. The first end of the third link is coupled to the second link and the second end of the third link is coupled to a first end of a fourth link. In addition, the locking mechanism includes a first joint arranged to convert the rotation of the second link into a linear motion of the third link. The locking mechanism also includes a second joint arranged to convert linear motion of the third link into rotation of the fourth link. Furthermore, the locking mechanism includes a third joint coupled to a second end of the fourth link, wherein upon rotation of the fourth link, the third joint is arranged to restrict a motion of the triggering lever.
Therefore, the above locking mechanism provides a compact design and achieves efficient motion transmission with minimal stroke loss. Further, the locking mechanism provides flexible rotation between the first link and the fourth link, thereby expanding its applicability beyond switchgear applications.
In some embodiments, the first link and the second link are arranged to rotate around a first axis. In addition, the fourth link is arranged to rotate around a second axis perpendicular to the first axis.
In some embodiments, a plane of rotation between the first link and the fourth link changes at a first angle selected in a range of 0° to 90°. Further, the first pivoting axis of the first end of third link and the second pivoting axis of the second end of third link are displaced at a second angle in selected in a range of 0° to 120°. The change in the plane of rotation provides versatile applicability of mechanism in various energy isolation requirements and other applications.
In some embodiments, the third link is a twisted link. Further, the third joint includes an eccentric pin.
In some embodiments, upon rotation of the fourth link, the triggering lever falls tangent to the third joint, thereby restricts the motion of the triggering lever. Further, in some embodiments, the first link is a fixed link and each of the second link, the third link, and fourth link are movable links.
In some embodiments, the locking mechanism is arranged to accommodate at least one of: a double coil module, and a close on close interlock module. Further, in some embodiments, the fourth link comprises a fourth joint, wherein the fourth joint is arranged to form a revolute joint with the fourth link.
In some embodiments, the first joint is arranged to form a slotted joint between the second link and the third link. Further, the second joint is arranged to form a slotted joint between the third link and the fourth link.
In some embodiments, the first joint, the second joint, the third joint, and the fourth joint may be at least one of: pin and shaft.
In an example of the embodiment, the four-bar mechanism described above may be a non-planar four-bar mechanism.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a circuit breaker is provided. The circuit breaker includes a triggering lever and an energy storage module comprising a locking mechanism according to the first aspect of the present disclosure configured to interact with the triggering lever.
In some embodiments, the circuit breaker includes a casing housing the energy storage module and the triggering lever, wherein the first link of the locking mechanism extends through a wall of the casing, is rotational around a first axis and is fixed relative to said wall in the direction of said first axis.
In some embodiments, the circuit breaker includes a key connected to the first link, said key is located on an outside of the casing and accessible from outside the casing for enabling rotation of the first link of the locking mechanism from outside the casing. Further, the triggering lever is arranged to rotate around an axis which is perpendicular to the first axis.
In some embodiments, when the key is rotated by a desired stroke, the state of the first link changes from unlocked condition to locked condition. The motion is transferred to the fourth link via a four-bar mechanism as described above. Once the locking mechanism achieves its locked state, the third joint achieves the position wherein an outer surface of the triggering lever falls tangent to the third joint. Thereby rotation of the triggering lever is prevented and since lever rotation triggers the closing operation of the circuit breaker, until the first link is in locked state, closing operation of circuit breaker is prevented.
Advantageously, the locking mechanism mentioned above is not only compact in nature but also transfers required motion with minimum loss of stroke via the four-bar mechanism. Further, the present mechanism provides flexible rotation between the first and fourth links, spanning a range of 0° to 90°, thereby expanding its applicability beyond switchgear applications.
Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have some, or all of the recited advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of the example embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the example embodiments.

Fig. 1: discloses a side view of a locking mechanism in an unlocked condition according to some embodiments of the present invention;
Fig. 2: discloses an isometric view of the locking mechanism in the unlocked condition according to some embodiments of the present invention;
Fig. 3: discloses a side view of the locking mechanism in a locked condition according to some embodiments of the present invention;
Fig. 4: discloses an isometric view of the locking mechanism in the locked condition according to some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The apparatus disclosed herein can, however, be realized in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the aspects set forth herein. Like numbers in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.
The terminology used herein is for describing particular aspects of the disclosure only and is not intended to limit the invention. It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
According to some embodiments of the present subject matter, different views of a locking mechanism 100 are shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 4 in locked or unlocked condition.
As depicted in Fig. 1 discloses a side view of a locking mechanism 100 in an unlocked condition.
The locking mechanism 100 is provided for an energy storage module 202 in a circuit breaker 200, in which the locking mechanism 100 is arranged to interact with a triggering lever 102 in the circuit breaker 200. The locking mechanism 100 includes a first link 104 arranged to rotate upon engagement of a key 106 with the first link 104. Further, the locking mechanism 100 includes a second link 108 coupled to the first link 104. The rotation of the first link 104 transfers a motion to the second link 108 and rotates the second link 108.
Further, the locking mechanism 100 includes a third link 110 comprising a first end and a second end, wherein a first pivoting axis of the first end is displaced in a first direction and a second pivoting axis of the second end is displaced in a second direction. The first end of the third link 110 is coupled to the second link 108 and the second end of the third link 110 is coupled to a first end of a fourth link 112.
Furthermore, the locking mechanism 100 includes a first j oint 114 arranged to convert the rotation of the second link 108 into a linear motion of the third link 110. The locking mechanism 100 also includes a second joint 116 arranged to convert linear motion of the third link 110 into rotation of the fourth link 112. The locking mechanism 100 further includes a third joint 118 coupled to a second end of the fourth link 112, and wherein upon rotation of the fourth link 112, the third joint 118 is arranged to restrict a motion of the triggering lever 102.
Therefore, the above locking mechanism 100 provides a compact design and achieves efficient motion transmission with minimal stroke loss. Further, the locking mechanism 100 provides flexible rotation between the first link 104 and the fourth link 112, thereby expanding its applicability beyond switchgear applications.
In an embodiment, the first link 104 and the second link 108 are arranged to rotate around a first axis, and the fourth link 112 is arranged to rotate around a second axis perpendicular to the first axis.
In an embodiment, a plane of rotation between the first link 104 and the fourth link 112 changes at a first angle selected in a range of 0° to 90°. Further, the first pivoting axis of the first end of the third link 110 and the second pivoting axis of the second end of the third link 110 are displaced at a second angle in selected in a range of 0° to 120°. The change in the plane of rotation provides versatile applicability of mechanism in various energy isolation requirements and other applications.
Furthermore, in an example of the embodiment, the third link 110 is a twisted link. In another example of the embodiment, the third joint 118 comprises an eccentric pin.
Further, upon rotation of the fourth link 112, the triggering lever 102 falls tangent to the third joint 118 and thereby restricts the motion of the triggering lever 102.
In an embodiment, the first link 104 is a fixed link and each of the second link 108, the third link 110, and fourth link 112 are movable links. Further, the locking mechanism 100 is arranged to accommodate at least one of: a double coil module 120 and a close on close interlock module 122.
In addition, the fourth link 112 comprises a fourth joint 124, wherein the fourth joint 124 is arranged to form a revolute joint with the fourth link 112. In an example of the embodiment, the fourth joint 124 forms slotted joint with the fourth link 112 and thereby it converts the linear motion of third link 110 into rotary motion of the fourth link 112. Further, in an embodiment, the fourth link 112 is pivoted to ground (not shown) by the fourth joint 124.
Furthermore, the first j oint 114 is arranged to form a slotted j oint between the second link 108 and the third link 110, and wherein the second joint 116 is arranged to form a slotted joint between the third link 110 and the fourth link 112.
In an embodiment, the first joint 114, the second joint 116, the third joint 118, and the fourth joint 124 may be at least one of: pin and shaft.
Further, the Fig. 2 depicts an isometric view of the locking mechanism 100 described above in an unlocked condition in reference to Fig 1. Details of the locking mechanism 100 as shown in Fig. 2 are similar to the details as discussed in Fig. 1 and hence are not repeated for the sake of brevity.
Fig. 3 discloses a side view of the locking mechanism 100 in a locked condition. In addition, Fig. 4 depicts an isometric view of the locking mechanism 100 described above in a locked condition.
In operation of the locking mechanism 100 to change a state of the mechanism 100 from unlocked to locked condition, when the key 106 is rotated in clockwise direction it will rotate a shaft (not shown) of the first link 104 until it completes full stroke. During this stage, the second link 108 fixated on the shaft of first link 104 also rotates by specified stroke. The second link 108 including a slot that allows the first joint 114 to slide freely and prevent the jamming of the mechanism 100. The second link 108 also prevents the axial movement of the third link 110 in a direction perpendicular to a rotation plane of the first link 104. In addition, the axial movement of the third link 110 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the fourth link 112 is restricted by the fourth link 112.
In another embodiment, referring to Fig. 1- Fig. 4, the circuit breaker 200 includes a triggering lever 102 and an energy storage module 202 comprising the locking mechanism 100 according to Figs. 1-4. The locking mechanism 100 is configured to interact with the triggering lever 102.
In an embodiment, the circuit breaker 200 includes a casing 204, housing the energy storage module 202 and the triggering lever 102. Further, the first link 104 of the locking mechanism 100 extends through a wall of the casing 204 and is rotational around a first axis and is fixed relative to said wall in the direction of said first axis.
The circuit breaker 200 includes the key 106 connected to the first link 104, said key 106 being located on an outside of the casing 204 and accessible from outside the casing 204 for enabling rotation of the first link 104 of the locking mechanism 100 from outside the casing 204. Further, the triggering lever 102 is arranged to rotate around an axis which is perpendicular to the first axis.
In an example, the working principle of the locking mechanism is already discussed above in the reference to Figs. 1-4 and hence, has not repeated for the sake of brevity.
Further, in an embodiment, when the key 106 is rotated by a desired stroke, the state of the first link 104 changes from unlocked condition to locked condition. The motion is transferred to the fourth link 112 via a four-bar mechanism as described above. Once the locking mechanism 100 achieves its locked state, the third joint 118 achieves the position wherein an outer surface of the triggering lever 102 falls tangent to the third joint 118. Thereby rotation of the triggering lever 102 is prevented and since lever rotation triggers the closing operation of the circuit breaker 200, until the first link 104 is in locked state, closing operation of circuit breaker 200 is prevented.
In an example of the embodiment, the four-bar mechanism described above comprises a non-planar four-bar mechanism.
Advantageously, the above mentioned locking mechanism 100 not only embodies a compact design but also achieves efficient motion transmission with minimal stroke loss, leveraging the advantages of the four-bar mechanism (i.e., the first link 104, the second link 108, the third link 110, and the fourth link 112). Further, the locking mechanism 100 provides flexible rotation between the first link 104 and fourth link 112, spanning a range of 0° to 90°, thereby expanding its applicability beyond switchgear applications.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

A locking mechanism (100) for an energy storage module (202) in a circuit breaker (200), wherein the locking mechanism (100) is arranged to interact with a triggering lever (102) in the circuit breaker (200), the locking mechanism (100) comprising:
a first link (104) arranged to rotate upon engagement of a key (106) with the first link (104);

a second link (108) coupled to the first link (104), wherein the rotation of the first link (104) transfers a motion to the second link (108) and rotates the second link (108);

a third link (110) comprising a first end and a second end, wherein a first pivoting axis of the first end is displaced in a first direction and a second pivoting axis of the second end is displaced in a second direction, and wherein the first end of the third link (110) is coupled to the second link (108) and the second end of the third link (110) is coupled to a first end of a fourth link (112);

a first joint (114) arranged to convert the rotation of the second link (108) into a linear motion of the third link (110);

a second joint (116) arranged to convert linear motion of the third link (110) into rotation of the fourth link (112); and

a third joint (118) coupled to a second end of the fourth link (112), and wherein upon rotation of the fourth link (112), the third joint (118) is arranged to restrict a motion of the triggering lever (102).
The locking mechanism (100) according to claim 1, wherein the first link (104) and the second link (108) are arranged to rotate around a first axis, and wherein the fourth link (112) is arranged to rotate around a second axis perpendicular to the first axis.
The locking mechanism (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a plane of rotation between the first link (104) and the fourth link (112) changes at a first angle selected in a range of 0° to 90°.
The locking mechanism (100) according any of the preceding claims, wherein the first pivoting axis of the first end of third link (110) and the second pivoting axis of the second end of third link (110) are displaced at a second angle in selected in a range of 0° to 120°.
The locking mechanism (100) according to claim 4, wherein the third link (110) is a twisted link.
The locking mechanism (100) according to claim 1, wherein the third joint (118) comprises an eccentric pin.
The locking mechanism (100) according any of the preceding claims, wherein upon rotation of the fourth link (112), the triggering lever (102) falls tangent to the third joint (118).
The locking mechanism (100) according to claim 1, wherein the first link (104) is a fixed link and each of the second link (108), the third link (110), and fourth link (112) are movable links.
The locking mechanism (100) according to claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism (100) is arranged to accommodate at least one of: a double coil module (120), and a close on close interlock module (122).
The locking mechanism (100) according to claim 1, wherein the fourth link (112) comprises a fourth joint (124), wherein the fourth joint (124) is arranged to form a revolute joint with the fourth link (112).
The locking mechanism (100) according to claim 1, wherein the first j oint (114) is arranged to form a slotted joint between the second link (108) and the third link (110); and wherein the second joint (116) is arranged to form a slotted joint between the third link (110) and the fourth link (112).
The locking mechanism (100) according to claim 11, wherein the first joint (114), the second joint (116), the third joint (118), and the fourth joint (124) may be at least one of: pin and shaft.
A circuit breaker (200) comprising a triggering lever (102) and an energy storage module (202) comprising a locking mechanism (100) according to any one of claims 1-12 configured to interact with the triggering lever (102).
A circuit breaker (200) according to claim 13 comprising a casing (204) housing the energy storage module (202) and the triggering lever (102), wherein the first link (104) of the locking mechanism (100) extends through a wall of the casing (204), is rotational around a first axis and is fixed relative to said wall in the direction of said first axis.
A circuit breaker 200 according to claim 14, comprising a key (106) connected to the first link (104), said key (106) being located on an outside of the casing (204) and accessible from outside the casing (204) for enabling rotation of the first link (104) of the locking mechanism (100) from outside the casing (204).